Looking for Pumpkin Bread? Find the recipe in Part 2
of this series! Happy baking!
Yup, I’m a sucker for real, traditional, yummy pumpkin pie with a fair amount of spice, great texture and a nicely baked crust. If you’re looking for some nouveau pumpkin pie recipe, you won’t find it here. I’m pretty much a purist when it comes to pumpkin pie. Even whip cream is overkill for me, but we’ve all got our own taste buds so there. But don’t misunderstand me. I’m all for seeing pumpkin during the season in more than just pie. I love savory pumpkin dishes too: pumpkin soup, pumpkin lasagna and more. And when it comes to the sweeter side of life, pumpkin bread should be a much more beloved and popular bread than it is (especially on the West Coast). After that, pumpkin cookies, muffins and pancakes come to mind. Now can you think of anything better on a chilly fall Sunday than pumpkin pancakes topped with real maple syrup?
But first things first, so back to that Pumpkin Pie…
After much baking and just about as much eating, I finally got a pumpkin pie recipe that works great for me and for the people I’ve shared it with. It’s a hodgepodge of a few recipes I’ve tried over the years, tweaked and refined, and voila, I have a recipe that’s easy enough which means I’ll actually make it more than once during the season. Hardcore cooks will probably cringe here when I admit that I’m using a store bought unbaked deep dish pie shell. There, I said it.
My Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 frozen or refrigerated 9 inch pie crust (thawed in fridge if necessary)
1 egg white
If you must make your own pie crust, here’s a recipe with easy to follow instructions
Stovetop Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s 100% Pure Canned Pumpkin (puree)
1 cup drained candied yams
1/2 cup C&H white granulated sugar
1/4 cup C&H dark brown sugar
1/4 cup medium grade maple syrup
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (newly bought)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (newly bought)
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon water
Bowl Ingredients:
1 cup heavy organic cream
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
1 teaspoon Tahitian vanilla extract
*Note The Bowl Ingredients (cream through to Tahitian vanilla) will be assembled in a bowl. The Stovetop Ingredients will be cooked together stovetop in a medium to larger sized saucepan.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You’re going to work a little magic and pre-bake that frozen (now thawed) pie crust.
Now, take that frozen pie crust, unwrap it and if there’s any excess moisture, dab it dry with a paper towel. Now jab the bottom with a fork, making pin point sized impressions. Stab at a 90 degree angle to make the smallest but deepest impressions. Now dip a pastry brush or a clean paper towel in your egg white and give that shell a nice once-over. No need to overdo it. Pop it in onto a baking sheet and slide into that 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Set a timer!
Pull it out of the pie crust and place on a cooling rack or the equivalent. Let your pie crust cool for at least 20 minutes. I use this time to get everything I’m going to need out on the counter and ready to go.
Ready, set, go!
Do the Stovetop ingredients first. Heat pumpkin and yams on medium high heat, smashing the yams with a masher as you go. You want everything thoroughly mashed and yes, you can give it all a once over with an electric mixer. Once the pumpkins and yams start to heat up, add all your spices with and sprinkle some water into the mixture to help them start releasing their aromatics into the mixture. Stir very often. Once you have all your ingredients assembled and heating in your saucepan, lower the heat slightly. Altogether, your pumpkin/yam mix will be on the stovetop about 10-15 minutes. Keep the saucepan just below sputtering hot.
Now assemble the Bowl Ingredients and whisk by hand. Just get them mixed, don’t overdo it.
Get that crust off the cooling rack and set it onto the baking sheet so it’s ready for filling. Remove Stovetop Ingredients from heat and stir in your Bowl Ingredients. Once that’s mixed pour into the pie crust and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove pie and lower heat to 300 degrees. Once it’s at 300 return for 25-30 minutes. Center should be firm and crust a deep golden brown. Cool on cooling rack and enjoy!
Be back soon with that aforementioned Pumpkin Bread recipe and more in Part 2, until then…
Happy Eating!
